| Conference | Western |
|---|---|
| League | NBA G League |
| Founded | 1989 |
| History | Sioux Falls Skyforce 1989–present CBA: 1989–2000; 2001–2006 IBL: 2000–2001 NBA D-League/G League: 2006–present |
| Arena | Sanford Pentagon |
| Location | Sioux Falls, South Dakota |
| Colors | Red, black, yellow[1][2] |
| Manager | Jeremy DeCurtins |
| Owner | Miami Heat (Micky Arison) Heineman family (Managing Partner) |
| League champs | 2 CBA (1996, 2005) 1 NBA D-League (2016) |
| Conf champs | 4 CBA (1996, 1998, 1999, 2005) 1 NBA D-League (2016) |
| Div champs | 1 CBA (1996) 2 NBA D-League (2015, 2016) |
| Affiliations | Miami Heat |
| Website | siouxfalls.gleague.nba.com |
| Capacity | 3,250 |
The Sioux Falls Skyforce are an American professional basketball team of the NBA G League based in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and are affiliated with the Miami Heat. The team has played its home games in the Sanford Pentagon since the 2013–14 season. The Sioux Falls Skyforce are the longest-running minor-league basketball team in the United States.[3]
The Skyforce began in the Continental Basketball Association (CBA) in 1989, playing its home games at Sioux Falls Arena from then until the move to the Pentagon in 2013. It participated in four CBA championship finals, winning the championship trophy in 1996 (defeating the Fort Wayne Fury, four games to one) and 2005 (defeating the Rockford Lightning three games to one).
History
The team's name was chosen from two entries in a contest to name the team in 1989 which yielded 1,045 suggestions. The names "Sky" and "Force" were combined to create the "Skyforce".[4]
The Skyforce also hosted the CBA All-Star Game three times: in 1996, 2000, and 2003.
In 2006, the Skyforce joined the D-League. In its first two seasons in the D-League, it was a playoff contender. In 2009, the team suffered a 2–1 series loss in the first round to the Tulsa 66ers. In 2014, it fared a bit better, sweeping the Canton Charge in the first round before being swept by the eventual champion Fort Wayne Mad Ants in the semifinals. In 2016, the Skyforce won its first D-League championship, defeating the Los Angeles D-Fenders 2 games to 1. The Skyforce also finished the 2016 season 40–10, the winningest regular season record in D-League history.[5]
On June 10, 2013, the Miami Heat announced that it had entered into a single affiliation partnership with the Skyforce, beginning with the 2013–14 season.[6] The Miami Heat signature red/yellow color scheme was adopted into the Skyforce's jerseys, logo, and merchandise following this announcement. On June 1, 2017, the Heat purchased a controlling interest in the Skyforce with the Heineman family retaining its minority share.[7] The former ownership group of Bob Correa, Greg Heineman, Roger Larsen, and Tom Walsh had purchased the Skyforce from the Kemper Lesnik Organization in May 1993.[8]
Year-by-year record
| Season | League | Conference | Division | Finish | Wins | Losses | Pct. | Postseason results | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sioux Falls Skyforce | |||||||||
| 1989–90 | CBA | National | Midwest | 3rd | 20 | 36 | .357 | ||
| 1990–91 | CBA | American | Midwest | 3rd | 26 | 30 | .464 | ||
| 1991–92 | CBA | National | Northern | 4th | 24 | 32 | .429 | ||
| 1992–93 | CBA | National | Midwest | 3rd | 26 | 30 | .464 | ||
| 1993–94 | CBA | National | Midwest | 3rd | 24 | 32 | .429 | ||
| 1994–95 | CBA | National | Western | 2nd | 34 | 22 | .607 | Lost First Round (Omaha) 1–2 | |
| 1995–96 | CBA | National | Northern | 1st | 32 | 24 | .571 | Won First Round (Oklahoma City) 3–1 Won Conf. Championship (Florida) 3–2 Won CBA Championship (Fort Wayne) 3–2 | |
| 1996–97 | CBA | National | 1st | 47 | 9 | .839 | Lost First Round (Omaha) 2–3 | ||
| 1997–98 | CBA | National | 2nd | 31 | 25 | .554 | Won Semifinals (Yakima) 3–2 Won Conf. Championship (Fort Wayne) 3–0 Lost CBA Championship (Quad City) 3–4 | ||
| 1998–99 | CBA | National | 1st | 32 | 24 | .571 | Won First Round (Idaho) 3–2 Won Conf. Championship (Quad City) 3–2 Lost CBA Championship (Connecticut) 1–4 | ||
| 1999–00 | CBA | National | 3rd | 30 | 26 | .536 | Won First Round (Connecticut) 109–90 Lost Semifinals (La Crosse) 90–99 | ||
| 2000–01[a] | CBA | National | 5th | 8 | 15 | .348 | |||
| 2000–01 | IBL | Western | 3rd | 16 | 14 | .533 | Lost First Round (Rockford) 91–111 | ||
| 2001–02 | CBA | American | 2nd | 33 | 23 | .589 | Lost Semifinals (Rockford) 1–3 | ||
| 2002–03 | CBA | National | 4th | 17 | 31 | .354 | |||
| 2003–04 | CBA | 5th | 23 | 25 | .479 | ||||
| 2004–05 | CBA | Western | 2nd | 31 | 17 | .646 | Won Semifinals (Dakota) 3–2 Won CBA Championship (Rockford) 3–1 | ||
| 2005–06 | CBA | Western | 2nd | 30 | 18 | .625 | Lost round-robin tournament 0–2 | ||
| 2006–07 | D-League | Eastern | 2nd | 30 | 20 | .600 | Won Division Semifinals (Fort Worth) 128–105 Lost Division Finals (Dakota) 113–115 | ||
| 2007–08 | D-League | Central | 2nd | 28 | 22 | .560 | Won First Round (Dakota) 101–89 Lost Semifinals (Austin) 93–99 | ||
| 2008–09 | D-League | Central | 4th | 25 | 25 | .500 | |||
| 2009–10 | D-League | Eastern | 2nd | 32 | 18 | .640 | Lost First Round (Tulsa) 1–2 | ||
| 2010–11 | D-League | Eastern | 7th | 10 | 40 | .200 | |||
| 2011–12 | D-League | Eastern | 7th | 15 | 35 | .292 | |||
| 2012–13 | D-League | Central | 4th | 25 | 25 | .500 | |||
| 2013–14 | D-League | Central | 2nd | 31 | 19 | .620 | Won First Round (Canton) 2–1 Lost Semifinals (Fort Wayne) 0–2 | ||
| 2014–15 | D-League | Eastern | Central | 1st | 29 | 21 | .580 | Lost First Round (Canton) 1–2 | |
| 2015–16 | D-League | Eastern | Central | 1st | 40 | 10 | .800 | Won Quarterfinals (Westchester) 2–0 Won Semifinals(Canton) 2–0 Won D-League Championship (Los Angeles) 2–1 | |
| 2016–17 | D-League | Western | Southwest | 3rd | 29 | 21 | .580 | ||
| 2017–18 | G League | Western | Midwest | 2nd | 25 | 25 | |||
| 2018–19 | G League | Western | Midwest | 3rd | 24 | 26 | |||
| 2019–20 | G League | Western | Midwest | 2nd | 22 | 20 | Season cancelled by COVID-19 pandemic | ||
| 2020–21 | G League | Opted out of single-site season | |||||||
| 2021–22 | G League | Western | – | 12th | 14 | 21 | |||
| 2022–23 | G League | Western | – | 5th | 20 | 12 | Won Quarterfinals (Salt Lake) 115–107 Won Semifinals (Stockton) 98–97 Lost Conference Finals (Rio Grande Valley) 105–110 | ||
| 2023–24 | G League | Western | – | 2nd | 22 | 12 | Semifinals (Oklahoma City) 93–111 | ||
| 2024–25 | G League | Western | – | 8th | 18 | 16 | |||
| Regular season | 923 | 794 | 1989–2025 | ||||||
| Playoffs | 50 | 46 | 1989–2025 | ||||||
- ^ The CBA folded in the middle of the 2000–01 season.
Head coaches
| Head coach | Term | Regular season | Playoffs | Achievements | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | L | Win% | G | W | L | Win% | ||||
| 1 | Nate Tibbetts | 2007–2009 | 100 | 53 | 47 | 2 | 1 | 1 | |||
| 2 | Tony Fritz | 2009–2010 | 50 | 32 | 18 | 3 | 1 | 2 | |||
| 3 | Mo McHone | 2010–2012 | 100 | 25 | 75 | — | — | — | — | ||
| 4 | Joel Abelson | 2012–2013 | 50 | 25 | 25 | — | — | — | — | ||
| 5 | Pat Delany | 2013–2014 | 50 | 31 | 19 | 5 | 2 | 3 | |||
| 6 | Phil Weber | 2014–2015 | 50 | 29 | 21 | 3 | 1 | 2 | |||
| 7 | Dan Craig | 2015–2016 | 50 | 40 | 10 | 7 | 6 | 1 | NBA D-League Finals Champion: 2016 NBA D-League Coach of the Year: 2016 NBA D-League All-Star Game coach: 2016 | ||
| 8 | Nevada Smith | 2016–2019 | 150 | 78 | 72 | — | — | — | — | ||
| 9 | Eric Glass | 2019–2020 | 42 | 22 | 20 | — | — | — | — | ||
| 10 | Kasib Powell | 2021–2024 | 67 | 34 | 33 | 3 | 2 | 1 | |||
| 11 | Dan Bisaccio | 2024–present | 34 | 18 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
NBA affiliates
- Miami Heat (2013–present)
See also
References
- ^ "Staff Directory". SiouxFalls.GLeague.NBA.com. NBA Media Ventures, LLC. Retrieved November 12, 2018.
- ^ "Sioux Falls Skyforce Reproduction Guideline Sheet". NBA Properties, Inc. Retrieved August 30, 2017.
- ^ "Sioux Falls Skyforce: A 30-Year Basketball Legacy | 605 Magazine". October 2018.
- ^ "Sports Digest". United Press International. May 17, 1989.
- ^ Kotloff, Brian (April 29, 2016). "2016 NBA Development League Champions, Sioux Falls Skyforce". SiouxFalls.GLeague.NBA.com. NBA Media Ventures, LLC. Retrieved November 14, 2019.
- ^ "Miami HEAT Enter Into Single Affiliation Partnership With NBA Development League". NBA.com
- ^ "Miami Heat purchase controlling interest of Skyforce, keep Heinemans as chief business operators". KWSN. June 1, 2017.
- ^ "Team History". SiouxFalls.GLeague.NBA.com. NBA Media Ventures, LLC. Retrieved November 14, 2019.